An energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) and a wavelength dispersive X-ray spectrometer (WDS) are known as an X-ray spectrometer used in an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA).
The EDS is an X-ray spectrometer obtaining an energy spectrum of an X-ray by using a phenomenon that electron-hole pairs of which the number is in proportion to energy are generated according to an internal photoelectric effect when the X-ray is incident on a semiconductor. On the other hand, the WDS utilizes a diffraction phenomenon of an X-ray, and is an X-ray spectrometer detecting only an X-ray of a wavelength satisfying a Bragg's diffraction condition by setting a substance having a multitiered structure with a surface separation, such as a crystal, to a spectroscopic element, and by controlling an incident angle of the X-ray with respect to the spectroscopic element.
In general, the EPMA is provided with a plurality of WDSs, and is configured such that the EDS can be additively provided. In the EPMA provided with both of the WDS and the EDS, features of each of the WDS and the EDS are capable of compensating disadvantages of each other, and thus, it is possible to perform analysis with a higher accuracy (for example, refer to Patent Literatures 1 to 4 described below).